December 4, 2012

Celebrating our future: More than 1,300 students to graduate Dec. 7 and 8

Kansas State University commencement ceremonies will be Friday, Dec. 7, on the Salina and Manhattan campuses, and Saturday, Dec. 8, on the Manhattan campus.

The university will award nearly 1,100 bachelor's degrees; nearly 300 master's; more than 70 doctorates; and three associate degrees. Of the graduates, 126 are earning their degree through distance education.

Commencement ceremonies Dec. 7 include the Graduate School at 1 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum. Esther Myers, former chief science officer for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a university alumna, will be the commencement speaker. The commencement ceremony on the Salina campus will be at 7 p.m. in the Student Life Center. Kirk Schulz, Kansas State University president, will be the commencement speaker.

Commencement ceremonies Dec. 8 will all take place on the Manhattan campus. The schedule and speakers include:

* College of Agriculture, 1:30 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum. Kevin Donnelly, professor of agronomy, will give the commencement address.

* College of Arts and Sciences, 9 a.m. in Bramlage Coliseum. N. Sanjay Rebello, associate professor of physics, will give the commencement address.

* College of Business Administration, noon in Bramlage Coliseum. Earl McVicker, chairman, president and CEO of Central Financial Corp. and its subsidiary, Central Bank and Trust Co. of Hutchinson, will provide the commencement remarks.

* College of Education, 10:30 a.m. in Bramlage Coliseum. Angie Miller, a seventh-grade mathematics teacher at Eisenhower Middle School in Manhattan and recipient of the 2011 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, will give the commencement address.

* College of Engineering, 3 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum. U.S. Navy Adm. Kirkland Donald, former director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, will give the commencement address.

* College of Human Ecology, 9 a.m. in McCain Auditorium. Carolyn Jackson, president of the Human Ecology Alumni Advisory Board, will give the commencement address.

A virtual commencement ceremony is available at http://dce.k-state.edu/students/commencement/ for distance education students unable to attend their commencement ceremony in person. The website includes a listing of students earning degrees through distance education, a place for family and friends to post congratulatory messages and other commencement-related offerings.

DVDs of the ceremony may be ordered through the K-State Student Union Bookstore at 800-KSU-CATS or 785-532-6583. The DVDs are $19.99.

Also, commissioning ceremonies for K-State's Army and Air Force ROTC units will take place commencement weekend. The Army ROTC will commission four officers during its ceremony at 10 a.m. Dec. 7 in the K-State Student Union's Forum Hall. The Air Force ROTC will commission two officers at 2 p.m. Dec. 7 in the Marietta Room at Meyers Hall.